Shots ringing out on a Friday afternoon are startling enough.

When one of those bullets winds up smashing into the Student Life Center at Thomas University, it’s alarming. 

The Student Life Center was not the intended target, it appears. It’s bad enough that a round meant for another target pierced a building where students and staff are known to congregate. But it appears that bullet may have been intended for a person and that is in itself shocking.

Investigators continue to look for who fired the shot and why it was fired.

The Thomas University Magnolia campus was locked down briefly, and the lockdown lifted after it was determined there was no further danger.

But this could have been an awful situation if somebody — a student, an instructor, a janitor — had been the unwitting recipient of a wayward bullet. 

We hope somebody out there knows something about last week’s shooting incident and we hope they step forward with information that can help authorities track down the responsible parties.

We’ve already had one incident recently where shots were fired in public and a couple of people close by were hurt, though not seriously. But it doesn’t take much to turn a a near-tragedy into a full tragedy.

The recent shooting at the Whataburger was sparked by “stupidity,” said one law enforcement source. 

The most frustrating part “is all the parents,” the lawman said, who haven’t cooperated in the investigation where young people allegedly shot at more young people. 

“I’m appalled,” he said.

Arrested in the Whataburger shooting were young people who had been expelled from school and were out on the streets. They were accused of discharging an AK-47 in the parking lot and everyone in the parking lot was a potential victim.

But few people came forth with information about the shooters afterward. 

Eleven years ago, a judge in Massachusetts decreed that anyone wearing clothing that said “Stop Snitching” or something similar will be barred from the courthouse.

Just because someone else has such little regard for someone else’s safety or life doesn’t mean  someone else should. If you see something, say something. It might prevent someone you know — or yourself — from being an unintended victim the next time around.